


Frost Burned

by Alphaqueenie



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Blood and Violence, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Keith/Lance (Voltron) Angst, M/M, lowkey, no one dies I promise, or maybe highkey, slowburn?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-18
Updated: 2018-01-29
Packaged: 2019-03-06 08:03:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13406961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alphaqueenie/pseuds/Alphaqueenie
Summary: "Don't you dare close those eyes, Lance! Look at me! You are not giving up on me!" he spat.Too late, Mullet Lance thought I've already given up. So, ha! At least he could take this one last win to his grave.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> What even is writing, honestly? Just dumping a lil somethin' somethin'.

It was cold. Bone chilling in fact....or maybe not. Maybe it was boiling hot, scolding his skin, reminding him of the feeling when the oil from the bacon pan popped onto him. That feeling that reminded him of his family together for breakfast on a Sunday morning, his mother standing in the kitchen shielding herself from the molten spray. Lance pushed the thought out of his mind, unable to think coherently for more than a second. He was still trying to figure out what this feeling was. He settled on being a little bit of both. He felt the scolding as the flames engulfed his body. He felt the hot sensation on his back where the impact of the wall stopped him from flying any farther. He felt the fiery ache of every broken bone in his body and the blood seeping out of him slowly like molten lava searing his skin as it pooled beneath him. He felt the scorch of his tears glide down his cheek and the burning in his eyes like he had kept them open too long. He could feel the burning in his chest where ash and soot now lined his lungs and his breathe caught in his throat aching to get out. The throb of what Lance knew would be a concussion pounded against his head like a hammer. It all burned but his body felt as cold as ice on the literal ice sheet that lined this arctic planet. It was a strange combination of temperatures that lance couldn't wrap his head around. He guessed something exploded, that's the only logical answer but honestly it all happened so quickly Lance didn't even know.

Suddenly Keith was hovering over him, moving his mouth frantically with worry written on his face. No words were coming out though. _Strange_ Lance thought. Keith was clearly yelling at him, but for what, Lance had no idea. Or maybe he wasn't. He got the feeling he was yelling _around_ him. He didn't look angry but absolutely terrified, there were even small tears forming in the corner of his eyes. He cant deny the sight broke his heart just a little. But then the ringing began, screeching in his ears sending a large throb through Lances temple. Any comprehensive thought he had before was wiped away. That's when the pain hit like the brick wall that shattered his bones. He opened his mouth to scream in pain but nothing came out. He couldn't breath, he couldn't move, he couldn't think straight.

Keith's voice came into focus, slowly and muffled. "-ance! Lance! LANCE!? OH MY GOD LANCE! SHIRO YOU HAVE TO HURRY I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO! THERE'S TOO MUCH BLOOD I CAN'T-"

He stopped as he seemed to notice Lances eyes flicker. He felt really tired now and the urge to fall asleep was overwhelming. He closed his eyes and thought of his mom, his brothers and sisters and cousins and aunts and uncles. He even thought of his dad, weirdly enough. He hadn't seen the prick since he was 4 and couldn't imagine why he thought of him. Honestly dad's were overrated, who needed them. Nevertheless his face was there, embedded in his memory as someone who he wronged. If he had the chance he might have gone to visit the man and let bygones be bygones but he never would now he guessed. He'd never see his family or the ocean or the garrison or his mama or his team. He'd never see Keith again. That was someone he probably should have made and effort to befriend. His greatest regret was probably how rude he'd always been to him. It was uncalled for and petty and he didn't really want Keith to remember him like that. Looking back, the whole thing had been stupid but there was nothing he could do about it now. He almost felt bad for deciding to let go knowing how much he'd hurt the ones he loved when he was gone. But who knows, maybe they didn't need him at all. After all he was the seventh wheel. They'd move on. So he let go, fine with dying with the regrets he had. At least he did some good in the universe.

Then reality slapped him in the face, or more accurately Keith did, which was a bit of a surprise considering Lance was the one burnt to a crisp and bleeding to death on some dusty wrecked Galra ship floor. Lance was _kinda_ pissed off now. _What the hell, dude!_ Lance thought to himself as the sting set in on his cheek. His eyes shot open in pained annoyance when Keith was yelling in his face. The bastard couldn't even let him die peacefully. And suddenly lance remembered why he kept up the dumb rivalry in the first place.

"DON'T YOU DARE CLOSE THOSE EYES, LANCE! LOOK AT ME! YOU ARE NOT GIVING UP ON ME!" He spat.

 _Too late, Mullet_ Lance thought _I've already given up. So, ha!_ At least Lance could take this one last win to his grave. He felt his body lighten and go limp. As he slumped in Keith's arms he saw the tears fill those fiery violet eyes, "Please, Lance." He sobbed. "Voltron needs you. We need you...I-I need you.....Don't leave me. I can't lose someone else.....I love you."

 _What? Wait, What?!_ Lance thought. Then Keith leaned in close and kissed him, his tears falling onto Lances face. _YEBUHWAHHH?!?!?!_ Lance screeched in his own head, putting his own death on hold.


	2. Chapter 2

-o0o-

Everything went black. Lance knew for sure he wasn’t dead because there was no way he'd die after the stunt Keith pulled. Even if he couldn't open his eyes and his hearing was waning in and out, he had a faint idea of what was going on. Everyone was panicking. Other than that, Lance had no clue.

Shiro~(°○°)~Shiro

Shiro had heard the explosion from the other side of the ship as a faint popping. It had peaked his curiosity enough considering this ship was supposedly abandoned and in complete disarray. There should be nothing making noise on this ship except maybe his team mates, and there was no way he was hearing them this far away. He froze in the hallway, debating whether or not to investigate or leave it be.

Do you know that feeling you get in your stomach when you know something's wrong; just a gut instinct followed by subtle panic. But you don't want to deal with it. Like maybe if you don't acknowledge it, it'll just go away and everything will turn out fine. That was the initial thought process. Don't do anything and everything will be alright....right?

Wrong.

What the hell was he doing? He was their leader, now was not the time to get anxiety. If something happened he needed to be there to guide them through it. So slowly, cautiously he turned on his heel and began walking calmly in the general direction he heard the noise from.

He turned on his communicator. "Is everyone okay?"

Within seconds Pidge answered "We're good over here. What was that?"

The next communication was laced with dread. The screech of Keith's voice could have shattered glass. "LANCE! LANCE! LANCE!? OH MY GOD LANCE! SHIRO YOU HAVE TO HURRY I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO! THERE'S TOO MUCH BLOOD I CAN'T-"

Needless to say, Shiro was now running in a _calm_ sprint, rounding corners and barely avoiding the walls that surrounded him. It took him too long to find them. He narrowly missed colliding with Keith when he finally found the room. They were in a narrow space with high ceilings and a series of drawers, potentially containing valuable information about the Galra. The room was significantly hotter than the rest of the ship, with burning papers and ash dusting the air.

Pidge was knelt down beside Keith trying desperately to get him off the ground. He was hyperventilating, made worse by the lack of breathable air due to the smoke surrounding them. His helmet was partially shattered, the visor of it now shattered and scattered into cuts along his face. He was bloody and bruised and burnt in some places, but conscious, more than could be said about Lance.

Hunk pulled Lances limp body into his arms and looked to Shiro. They needed their leader, calm, good reasoned and levelheaded Shiro. Even though he was anything but calm at the moment, he could pretend he was for the sake of the team.

"Hunk. Carry Lance to Red. Pidge, head to your lion." They nodded in agreement and rushed off to where they needed to be.

"Keith." Shiro spoke soft but firmly. "Are you okay?"

Keith nodded yes. "Good." Shiro continued. "The Red lion is the fastest. You need to get Lance back to the castle as quick as you can. We need to go now." And that was enough to bring Keith back. He seemed mostly alright... for now.

Pidge ~(•○•)~Hunk

Pidge and Hunk found the main computer which probably held some valuable information about this ship and what it was used for. Pidge only pressed one button when the loudest noise she'd ever heard shook the walls around them. They were closer to Keith and Lance when the explosion went off, so it was significantly louder to them than it was for Shiro.

Normally when something threatening happened, they would get into a fighting stance, survey their surroundings and figure out what was going on. Normally they weren't as relaxed as they were that day. But there's a bit of leeway that they had allowed themselves on this mission. It was supposed to be simple, search a Galra ship that was wrecked at the very beginning of the war over 10,000 years ago. The plan was to find out what happened in the time Allura and Coran were asleep. There was no need to worry because the planet was uninhabited and Pidge had gone the extra mile to scan the ship for life before they boarded.

The icy planet was silent, not even the breath of the wind was heard. So knowing that no one was around to sneak up and attack them was reassuring. They didn't have a reason to be on alert. This is why when something alarming did happen, neither Pidge nor Hunk got into their battle stances. Instead, Pidge yelped and jumped backwards away from the console in front of her. You would have thought the thing burned her with how far she flew back. At first she thought it was something she had done, like pushing the button actually broke the whole ship. Her instincts told her to crouch down, to be as small as possible and hide from whatever was happening. Hunk on the other hand thought the entire ship had become unstable and was caving in on itself with them inside. So he jumped towards Pidge, wrapping her into his arms and shielding her with his body while crushing her to the floor. He was so scared all he could do was scream.

Scream directly into Pidges ear, which scared her more, and she started to scream again thinking that Hunk saw something she didn't and not knowing what else to do but scream in terror. Her screaming further assured Hunk that the ceiling was coming down. So now they were just two screaming idiots lying on the ice cold floor. But in their defense, when the only noise you hear is your own footsteps and something that loud breaks the deafening silence, your body is wracked with absolute panic and confusion.

"We're dead! We're dead!! We've been crushed to death and now we're dead!!!" Hunk repeated very loudly into Pidges face.

"Wait! Hunk, stop screaming!!" Pidge yelled, shutting him up instantly.

They didn’t know what was happening but they knew something happened. Or did it? They had to question because now everything was silent, perhaps even more than it was before. Neither moved or said a word. Pidge was trying to figure out what in the universe was going on, but Hunk was to afraid to do anything still thinking the slightest movement would cause a cave in. Then Shiro's voice come over the coms, causing both of them to jump up in fear and finally summon their bayards and assume a fighting pose.

"Is everyone okay?" He asked. Pidge and Hunk sighed with relief after realizing it was only Shiro and not someone trying to sneak attack them.

"We're good over here. What happened?" She asked, voice shaky and panic evident.

Suddenly a new voice, the voice of Keith took over communications. "LANCE! LANCE! LANCE!? OH MY GOD LANCE! SHIRO YOU HAVE TO HURRY I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO! THERE'S TOO MUCH BLOOD I CAN'T-"

It was so loud in Pidges helmet she jumped backwards again, but Hunk took off out the door in full sprint. "Come on!" He gestured for Pidge.

They ran through the maze of hallways not knowing what direction they were going in. Pidge hadn't had the chance to get the blueprints off of the main console. Hunk was a little ways ahead of Pidge, so when he finally entered the room he saw the worst of it. Keith huddled onto the limp body of his best friend, sobbing over him. He had to stop and take in everything he was seeing. The sheet of ice that should have coated the ground was gone, replaced by ash and debris. This room had a large gaping hole in the wall exposing the outside world.

Hunk was at Keith's side trying (and failing) desperately to conceal the panic he felt. Keith was in shock, it was written on his face. He couldn't stop staring at Lances face. He saw Lance on the ground, the visor on his helmet gone entirely and half of his face burned black. The front of his suit had been burned off and shards of debris were embedded in his chest, and blood pooling out of him onto the ground below. His entire right hand was charred. It probably couldn’t be saved.

Hunk was feeling queasy but willed himself not to vomit. Admittedly, his first thought at seeing his best friend fried alive was _ewe! Gross!_ Isn't that terrible. In his defense, Lance did look like burnt toast, but wow did he feel like the worst person alive right now for thinking that. "Keith! What happened?!" Hunk unintentionally yelled.

Keith flinched back, the tears in his eyes and the blood on his face causing Hunk to start crying too. He'd never seen Keith so small, so fragile, so broken. Any strength he had in this situation fell apart with that sight. "I-I-I don't know!" Keith answered. "I-It just....exploded! I don't know!"

Hunk used some of Lances torn suit and wrapped it around the stub of what used to be a hand when Pidge finally rounded the corner and entered the room to see this devastating sight. Immediately, Hunk tried to shield Pidge from the horrific state that Lance was in. He couldn't let her see him like this. She was the youngest of them all, only fifteen years old, there were things she just couldn't handle and this was one of them. "We can't let her see him like this." Hunk mumbled. He was in so much shock he wasn't even sure he said it at all.

But Keith understood perfectly. He pushed himself up and stumbled towards Pidge, collapsing into her arms. "Pidge, I ca-can't breathe." He spoke desperately.

Pidge grabbed him and lowered him to the ground. He was definitely panicking. Tears pooled down his bloody face and he was a mess. Pidge panicked a bit herself. She looked up at Lance, only seeing his legs as the upper half of his body was hidden completely by Hunk. She assumed he was as bad as Keith was and trusted that Hunk could handle it so she could deal with Keith. He was hyperventilating and coughing up whatever was caught in his lungs.

"Keith, listen to me. I need you to follow my breathing okay?" She said, trying to calm his breathing a bit before realizing her own was wild and sporadic. "Take deep breathes with me, okay? Breath in..." She guided, forcing herself to catch her own breath. "And out...in...and out."

There were glass shards in his skin and Pidge debated pulling them out or leaving them in and focusing on getting Keith calm. She settled on pulling the bigger pieces out at least. Shiro ran in as she pulled out the third particularly large and painful chunk of debris, nearly running over them both, and she, just as Hunk and Keith did, looked to Shiro for guidance.

"Hunk, carry Lance to Red. Pidge, get to your lion." He ordered and she gave Keith a reassuring squeeze on his shoulder before leading the way back to the lions.

She knew Shiro could handle him so she'd leave him for now. She lead the way down the twisting hallways to the make shift hangar they left the lions in. Hunk was right on her heals, huddling Lance tightly into his chest. She jumped into Green as Hunk put Lance in Red.

Pidge called the castle. "CORAN! ALLURA!" she screamed. She hadn't meant to but her body was still in panic mode.

"Pidge! What's happened?" Allura asked.

"Prepare the healing pods! Lance and Keith are hurt!" She said slightly calmer now. It took all her will to stay composed. She couldn't lie, if she could right now, she'd be balling. She looked out in front of her and saw Keith and Shiro running towards their lions. "They'll be coming in the red lion! Hurry!" Pidge ordered as Keith took off with Lance faster than she'd ever seen red move. She willed her lion to follow but could never even imagine matching that speed. Keith flew like his life depended on it. It did.

Keith~(•○•)~Lance

The mission to the crashed Galra ship had begun smoothly. They landed, entered the ship and came across a large center room with three different hallways to pass through. The team split up to cover more ground. This place was not inhabited so there was no imminent threat, it seemed safe enough. Pidge and Hunk took the path forward. Shiro took a path on the far left; Lance and Keith took the far right.

They came across a large, narrow library like room with file cabinets lining the walls. "Of course we get the boring room." Lance said offhandedly as Keith opened a cabinet and began looking through the papers inside.

He put his hand on the handle of a cabinet beside him before pausing. "It's kind of weird that the Galra use paper. Now that I think about it, I haven't seen paper at all since we left earth." Lance said.

Keith flipped the paper on its back, paused and grabbed a few more from the cabinet. All of these pages were blank. And strangely warm in contrast to the freezing temperatures around them. Lance took it out of his hands and looked them over. Dread fell over them both. Something was clearly wrong about this whole thing.

The paper in Lances hand was now burning hot, he had to drop it. He stepped back, and Keith followed, not quite sure what was going on. Suddenly the paper caught fire and Lance summoned his shield throwing it in front of Keith just as everything got, what Keith in the moment could only describe as loud and hot.

Have you ever heard anything so loud that they're quiet? Or rather, the explosion blew out his eardrum and for a moment he was completely deaf. He remembered being blown back and sliding along the ground. Lances shield had prevented any of the flames from burning him. He blacked out for a couple seconds, not too long. He was back on his feet in moments, in shock and unstable but ready to face whatever was happening.

As his ears rang out, the first thing he heard was screaming. Two screams. The screams of Hunk and Pidge? I must be dreaming he thought. There's no way the explosion reached them.

He slowly spun around in circles trying to get his bearings. It felt like the room had changed shape entirely. The sudden difference in temperature from painfully cold to blisteringly hot and the screeching in his ears blocking out most noise did a great job of thoroughly confusing him. He went to run a hand through his hair for a moment forgetting he had his helmet on and barely grazing his face. He realized his visor had been shattered and the glass pushed into his face. He was bleeding badly but couldn't feel the pain. He was thankful for that.

"Lance." He tried to call but it came out as a scratchy squeal.

He collapsed in a fit of coughs. It felt like someone was scratching him from the inside, dragging their nails down his throat. He scanned the room for Lance. It was easy considering everything was dark red and black and Lance was in blue and white. His limp form was thrown against a wall, leaning lazily to the side, unmoving. Keith’s was up and sprinting to him, sliding to his side.

"Lance?" He shook the boy by the shoulders. "Lance!" He tried again when he felt the wetness on his suit.

Blood.

Keith went silent as he looked at his hand. Every fiber of his body seized. He let out a long shaken breath before looking over Lances injuries and _God damn. He's fucked_ Keith thought. He looked like a charred shish kabob, blackened by ash and stabbed by shards of metal from the walls. He was losing too much blood and _oh fuck he's gonna die_. His breath was speeding up and his heart was racing, not that he noticed he was hyperventilating. He was too scared. This couldn't be happening. Not to Lance. He couldn't die. He was the glue that held the team together. He was the comedian of the group. Keith thought of him as a friend even if Lance didn't view him the same way. He might have even seen Lance as something more. He hadn't had many friends in his life and the few he had were his whole world. He would do anything to protect them. So why couldn't he protect Lance?

Lance groggily pulled his eyes open and stared up at Keith. He never felt so relieved in his life to see those blue eyes. "LANCE! LANCE! LAAAAANCE! CAN YOU EVEN HEAR ME?!" Keith yelled in his face.

Lance didn't acknowledge him, only looking back and forth into his own eyes with pain and confusion on his face. Yet somehow he looked pretty calm considering the situation. He kept screaming his name, not knowing what else to do.

Then Shiro's voice rang through what was left of his helmet. "Is everyone okay?"

Pidge also spoke, "We're good over here. What was that?" But Keith only cared about Shiro at the moment. He would know what to do.

So he turned on his communicator and began calling for him. "LANCE! LANCE! LANCE!? OH MY GOD LANCE! SHIRO YOU HAVE TO HURRY I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO! THERE'S TOO MUCH BLOOD I CAN'T-"

He stopped as he noticed Lances eyes begin to fall. He was closing his eyes. He was giving up. He was going to die. No one would be wrong in calling Keith impulsive. He always acted first and thought later. Which is why in his panic, thinking that if Lance didn’t wake up right now that he would die, he slapped him straight across the face? In the moment it seemed like a good idea. In the next moment, Keith regretted it immensely. For most people, slapping a man while he's down would not even have crossed their mind. Maybe it was his brain looking for an excuse to hit something but right then, Keith was angry and he had to admit, hitting Lance for even trying to die on him felt pretty good. But the face Lance made wracked him with guilt. Lance looked pissed. Understandably so.

Keith shrugged it off because it had gotten the job done. Lance was awake and probably trying to figure out how to hit Keith back. For now he was still alive. "DON'T YOU DARE CLOSE THOSE EYES, LANCE! LOOK AT ME! YOU ARE NOT GIVING UP ON ME!" He yelled.

And somehow, despite his face being burnt off and him being impaled by pieces of the actual wall, Lance found in himself the nerve to roll his eyes at Keith. Keith was almost shocked, except this was typical Lance. If Lance survived this, he was gonna beat the shit out of him later.

Then his body went limp in his arms. Keith thought Lance just died, thought he could actually feel Lances soul leaving his body. And despite himself, the tears began to trickle down his face. He could pray to the gods he didn't even believe in to let Lance survive this. He would beg him just to hold on a little longer. If Shiro was here, he'd know how to save Lance. He just needed a little longer. "Please, Lance." He sobbed. "Voltron needs you. We need you...I-I need you.....Don't leave me. I can't lose someone else.....I love you." He said trying to coax him back to life.

He was bearing his heart and soul to a dead body, and it felt strange letting himself be this vulnerable. It was strange admitting his more romantic feelings for someone. He'd never thought he'd ever really act on it, but he realized now was his last chance. Without thinking, he leaned down over Lances face and pressed their lips together. It was his first kiss and what he imagined would be his last. It felt good. Even though Lances lips were burnt and bloody, it felt good. It wasn't really the act that made Keith as happy as it did; it was the thought of Lance. He loved this idiot, the one who insisted they were rivals. The one who kept him from being the reckless jackass he was. The one who sacrificed himself to save him.

Then he pulled his face away only to see piercing blue eyes staring at him. The only thing Keith could do was stare right back at them, just as shocked because he was certain Lance was dead. Had he known Lance was alive he would never have kissed him. He would never have said any of the things he said.

Although Lance couldn't speak, Keith saw his lips mumble the words "What the fuck." And honestly, now Keith had never hated any one more in his life. Lance had seen him make a fool of himself and now he had to fight him. It took all his will not to punch him in the face just then. He probably would have if Lance didn't finally lose consciousness just as Hunk ran in.

Hunk looked over Lances body and back up to him. "Keith! What happened?!" He yelled.

Keith flinched back, "I-I-I don't know! I-It just....exploded! I don't know!" He was stumbling over his words, not quite because he was still shocked over the explosion, but because now he was embarrassed beyond belief.

"We can't let her see him like this." Hunk whispered.

Keith didn't know what he was talking about until he saw Pidge jogging towards them. He got up and collapsed into her arms to stop her from getting any closer. "Pidge, I ca-can't breathe." He gasped out. It wasn't a lie. The air was somehow evading him at the moment and he was definatly panicking. Even though he was hurt pretty bad, he looked better than Lance, and that was better for Pidge to see. So he let himself panic in her arms, even if at this point his panic wasn't so much about the current situation anymore.

"Keith, listen to me. I need you to follow my breathing okay?" She said, trying to calm his breathing. "Take deep breathes with me, okay? Breathe in"

_Lance was awake._

"And out"

_Lance knew he kissed him._

"in"

_Lance would remember it._

"and out."

_He was so fucked._

Even if he was freaking out right now, his breathing did calm. Pidge seemed satisfied with that, satisfied enough to begin pulling the glass from his face. As she did it he caught her gaze and saw the raw terror in them. He only just noticed she was shaking as she removed another blood stained piece and dropped it to the floor. He could tell she was holding her tears back, and suddenly he was reminded of the real issue. Lance could still die.

A small, wicked part of him almost hoped he would. Not because he wanted Lance out of his life. Of course not, he would ever. It was because he couldn't decide what he was more afraid of: losing Lance forever or being forced to deal with the mistake he just made when Lance woke up. The biggest part of him wanted nothing more than to save his friend Lance because it was the right thing to do and that was the only reason he needed. But another small part of him wanted to save Lance because he loved him. That part of him, his romantic desire, perhaps blinded by passion, wasn't afraid to face Lance. In fact that part of him wanted Lance to remember, just hoping that maybe there was a chance that there could be something between them. Keith pushed those thoughts away. There was no way there would ever be anything between him and Lance and no chance he would let Lance die now. He was gonna save Lance and face what he had coming. All he had to do was tell the truth, face rejection and move on.

Suddenly, Shiro came sprinting into the room, barely missing them and stopping to survey everything. He didn't falter for a second, knowing exactly what to do like he always did. "Hunk, carry Lance to Red. Pidge, get to your lion." He ordered, calm and steady as usual.

Pidge nodded and squeezed Keith's shoulder one last time before running into the hallway followed by Hunk and Lance. Shiro kneeled down in front of him, giving him a quick look over before asking, "Keith. Are you okay?"

Obviously he wasn't okay. He'd been exploded, smashed by a shield, thrown across the ground and stabbed in his face. But he knew that wasn't what Shiro meant. He was asking if Keith was good to fly, because he needed to get Lance home. So Keith nodded yes.

"Good." Shiro continued. "The Red lion is the fastest. You need to get Lance back to the castle as quick as you can. We need to go now."

Shiro helped Keith off the floor, and considering he had just been in an explosion, he was somehow able to stand and run long enough to follow Shiro to the lions. He knew it was all adrenalin and that his body would give out soon, but right now he hadn't really cared. He had a job to do and a friend to save. Once they got to the lions, Hunk was standing outside of Red waiting. Keith ran passed him straight into the cockpit and took off, not waiting for anyone. They'd catch up. He flew faster than he'd ever flown before. Red was hard to control at this speed but he could do it. He'd do nothing less than the best for Lance. He was in the castle hangar in no time and Allura was already there to meet him. He assumed one of the others had called ahead and thanked them for it.

Allura~(•○•)~Coran

It had been a varga after sending the Paladins off to the site of the crashed Galra ship, Allura had stepped back from the castle control panel and sat back into Shiros seat. She didn't have one of her own, something she had meant to fix many times but never got around to. She pulled her legs up and rested her head on her knees, turning off the screens so she could look out the window at the stars. The sight never got old to her. It reminded her of the time she used to spend with her father star gazing on Altea. What she wouldn't give to go back in time and see him just one last time.

"Princess." Coran called. "Are you okay?"

"I miss him." She answered calmly.

"....I miss him too. Every day." He leaned onto the chair.

"How is it so easy for you? I don't doubt that you miss him too, but you seemed to fall into place so easily after he was gone."

"It's because I know he would have wanted us to be strong. He's not gone entirely. He's still here in our hearts. As long as we carry him there he'll never truly be gone. That's why we are still here. To carry his legacy with us." He answered calmly.

"You're right. I need to be stronger. For him. For voltron. For the universe." She said confidently.

"I know he'd be so proud of you." He said as he ruffled her hair just a bit.

She chuckled a little and continued, "I miss the way he used to ruffle my hair like that. I miss the way he used to read to me. I miss how he used to kiss my forehead every night before I went to bed."

Coran sighed, "I miss that too, my dear."

She giggled a little louder. "Ha-ha. What?" She said, thinking he had slipped up on his words and accidently implied something he hadn't meant to. He stood above her with a completely stoic look as he gazed at the stars. He made no move to try and correct himself. Her smile fell. "...wait ...W H A T?¿!"

He looked down at her as if to say something when suddenly the screen came back to life, with Pidges voice echoing through the halls.

"CORAN! ALLURA!" She yelled.

Allura was up and out of her seat and at the controls in no time.

"Pidge! What's happened?" Allura asked.

"Prepare the healing pods! Lance and Keith are hurt!" She answered. "They'll be coming in the red lion. Hurry!"

Allura turned to Coran, who nodded and ran out the doors to prepare. Allura rushed to the hangar to meet them. It wasn't long before he flew in, going faster than she had ever seen any lion go. He couldn't stop fast enough and slid past his own docking station and into blues. The doors opened and she ran inside. Keith had been struggling to pick up Lances dead wait when Allura entered the lion and picked him up herself.

"What happened to Lan-" she cut herself off as she turned and saw Keith. "Keith, oh ancients, what happened to you?" Allura said.

Keith was bleeding from his face and it was littered with glass from his visor. He was wobbling on his feet with his helmet in his hands, as if he could barely hold his own weight. He was worse for wear but nothing compared to Lance. He didn't have time to answer before she picked him up and slung him over her shoulder. Keith looked shocked at her strength but didn't struggle. Quite frankly, at the moment she didn't care what the answer would have been. Right now she had to save them. With Lance and Keith in her arms she went to the infirmary that was purposefully set much closer to the hangar for this exact reason.

They got there quickly and as they walked in Coran couldn't help but to squeal "Quiznack almighty! What happened! You look like a-" Allura glared at him. " -a uhhh. Well, never mind that. Anyway, the pods are ready. Put them in." He said as he opened one. Allura set Keith down on his feet and placed Lance in the pod.

Keith looked like he was trying his hardest to stand normally but was swaying back and forth so much that he finally began falling backwards. Coran caught him and carried him to a second pod when Keith started fighting him.

"W-what are you doing! I don't need to go in the pod. I'm fine."

"You most certainly are not." Coran said, still pushing Keith forward as he put his hands and feet on the sides to stop himself from going in.

"Keith. I don't know if you've noticed but you're bleeding from your whole face. You need healing." Allura said in the kindest voice she could muster.

"No. I'm fine. I have to wait for Lance to wake up. I have to know he's going to be okay." He persisted.

"And you will, my boy. You'll wake up before he does and be able to greet him when he comes to. Everything will be alright once you get. In. The. Pod." Coran continued pushing, clearly not using his full strength but trying to coax Keith in. Keith wasn't having any of it.

"No. I need to stay awake. I'll be fine. Just get me a towel and some stitches and I can-"

_And_ Allura was done with this. It seemed like whenever she was around the paladins she got ten times more impatient. She nudged Coran out of the way, grabbed Keith by his shirt and squeezed a place on his neck that she had discovered put humans to sleep. She had used it on Lance many times before and it did wonders for rendering annoying humans unconscious. He wilted in her arms and she placed him into a healing pod. Simple as that. She turned toward the door as Pidge ran in, breathing heavily.

"Allura. Are they-" she stopped after answering her own question. The boys were already in the healing pods and they were going to be okay. "Good. Good. Thank goodness." She said with a shaky smile on her face. "Thank god. Oh god. Oh my god." She began to sob as her smile fell and she dropped to the floor. Her emotions had finally gotten the best of her and she succumbed to the fear. "They could have died." She whispered to herself more than to anyone else, just as Shiro and Hunk entered the room.

"But they didn't. They are going to be alright." Allura said to everyone. "They'll need time, but they will survive this."

-o0o-

So like Lance had said, everyone was panicking. He knew this because by the time Allura put him in that pod, he realized he couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, he couldn’t see anything. But he could _hear_ everything.


End file.
